Man caught naked in room with schoolgirl

A MAN who had semi-naked pictures of a 14-year-old girl on his mobile phone was caught with her in his flat, a court heard.

When police raided Jack Perna’s home in Tarleton, they found him leaving his bedroom naked and the girl was inside semi-naked and trying to hide.

The previous month, because of parental concerns about her welfare, police had served him with a notice banning him from being alone with her or having her at his home, though this had no legal force, said Sarah Holt, prosecuting.

She was particularly vulnerable and he knew her age. Their relationship was “completely inappropriate”, Ms Holt said.

When his two mobile phones were examined they were found to contain a total of 40 indecent photographs, some clearly of the girl and also a video clip showing them in the shower together.

Perna, 23, of Liverpool Road, Tarleton, pleaded guilty to child abduction, four offences of possessing indecent photographs, burglary and being in breach of a suspended sentence for motoring offences.

Jailing him for a total of 27 months Judge Andrew Hatton said: “She was clearly infatuated with her and you did not use force but she was vulnerable.”

He added that the law was there to protect such girls. He ordered him to sign the Sex Offenders’ Register for 10 years.

Liverpool Crown Court heard that a month before the child abduction in July he had burgled a house in Hesketh Lane, Tarleton.

Gerald Baxter, defending, said that the girl had gone to Perna’s home of her own accord that night and he would not contact her again. He was also genuinely remorseful.